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Mobile ViewENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS - INSPECT, TEST, REMEDY AIR CLEANER PURIFIER TYPES AIR FILTER EFFECTIVENESS AIR FILTERS, FIBERGLASS PARTICLES AIR FILTERS for HVAC SYSTEMS AIR FILTERS, OPTIMUM INDOOR AIR FILTERS, SOURCES FOR AIR FILTERING STRATEGIES AIR FILTERING CONTINUOUS FAN OPERATION AIR HANDLER / BLOWER UNITS AIR LEAK DETECTION TOOLS AIR POLLUTANTS, COMMON INDOOR Air Quality Improvement Strategies AIR LEAK SEALING PROCEDURE AIR SEALING STRATEGIES AIR TEST FOR MOLD: ACCURACY AIR TEST SAMPLING CASSETTE STUDY AIRBORNE MOLD SPORE COUNT ACCURACY ALLERGEN TESTS for buildings ALLERGY TESTS for PEOPLE ALLERGY TEST ACCURACY ANIMAL ALLERGENS / PET DANDER ANIMAL ENTRY POINTS in buildings ASBESTOS CLEANUP COMPANIES ASBESTOS ROOFING / SIDING DUST ASBESTOS FLOORING HAZARD REDUCTION ASBESTOS-FREE INSULATION MATERIALS ASBESTOS IDENTIFICATION IN buildings ASBESTOS AIR DUCTS Asbestos Air Duct Vibration Dampers ASBESTOS in CARPETING, PADDING ASBESTOS CEILING TILES, Asbestos-Containing ASBESTOS DUCTS, HVAC ASBESTOS DUCT INSULATION, Asbestos Paper ASBESTOS DUCTS, Transite Pipe ASBESTOS FIREPROOFING SPRAY-On Coatings ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE Laboratory Procedures ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE PHOTO ID GUIDE ASBESTOS FLOORING HAZARD REDUCTION ASBESTOS FLOORING REMOVAL GUIDE Asbestos Foamed-Over ASBESTOS INSULATION ASBESTOS PAPER DUCT INSULATION ASBESTOS PIPE INSULATION ASBESTOS ROOFING, CEMENT & FIBER CEMENT ASBESTOS ROOFING / SIDING DUST ASBESTOS SIDING CEMENT & FIBER CEMENT Asbestos in unusual places Asphalt-asbestos Paints & sealants Carbon Nanotube Materials TRANSITE PIPE AIR DUCTS Transite Pipe Chimneys & Flues Transite Pipe Water Supply Piping VERMICULITE INSULATION ASBESTOS FLOORING HAZARD REDUCTION ASBESTOS FLOORING REMOVAL GUIDE ASBESTOS List of Asbestos-Containing Products ASBESTOS MATERIAL REGULATIONS ASBESTOS MATERIAL REGULATIONS Update ASBESTOS MATERIAL REGULATIONS, OSHA Roofing/Siding ASBESTOS Photo Guide to Materials / Products ASBESTOS REMOVAL, Amateur, Incomplete Asbestos Removal, Certification ASBESTOS REMOVAL GUIDE, FLOORING ASBESTOS REMOVAL, Wetting Guidelines ASBESTOS RISK ASSESSMENT Asbestos risk: in Good Condition Asbestos risk: in Poor Condition Asbestos Under the Microscope ATTORNEYS and EXPERT WITNESSES INSULATION IDENTIFICATION GUIDE ASBESTOS-FREE INSULATION MATERIALS ASBESTOS IDENTIFICATION IN buildings Asbestos Pipe Insulation Balsam Wool Batt Insulation BLOWN-IN INSULATION BRICK LINED WALLS BRICK VENEER WALL INSULATION Cellulose loose fill insulation Ceramic Insulation Concrete insulation, light-weight Cotton Insulating Batts Fiberglass Insulation Foam Board Insulation Foam Insulation Types - Visual Id Homasote & Other Insulating Board Icynene Foam Spray Insulation Mineral Wool - Rock Wool Insulation Paper Duct Insulation Perlite Insulation PHENOLIC FOAM INSULATION POLYISOCYANURATE FOAM INSULATION POLYISOCYANURATE FOAM BELOW SLABS POLYSTYRENE FOAM INSULATION STRESS SKIN INSULATED PANELS STUCCO OVER FOAM INSULATION SUPER HI-R INSULATION SUPERINSULATION RETROFIT URETHANE FOAM Deterioration, Outgassing VERMICULITE INSULATION INSULATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT INSULATION LOCATION - WHERE TO PUT IT INSULATION MOLD INSULATION R-Values & Properties MOLD in FOAM INSULATION, RESISTANCE LEAD POISONING HAZARDS GUIDE MOLD: A COMPLETE GUIDE to TEST CLEAN PREVENT Nanomaterials Hazards More Information |
This asbestos-identification article illustrates how to recognize ceiling tiles that may contain asbestos.This document assists building buyers, owners or inspectors who need to identify asbestos materials (or probable-asbestos) in buildings by simple visual inspection. We provide photographs and descriptive text of asbestos insulation and other asbestos-containing products to permit identification of definite, probable, or possible asbestos materials in buildings. InspectAPedia offers impartial, unbiased advice without conflicts of interest. We will block advertisements which we discover or readers inform us are associated with bad business practices, false-advertising, or junk science. Our contact info is at InspectAPedia.com/Contact.htm.While an expert lab test using polarized light microscopy may be needed to identify the specific type of asbestos fiber, or to identify the presence of asbestos in air or dust samples, many asbestos-containing building products not only are obvious and easy to recognize, but since there were not other look-alike products that were not asbestos, a visual identification of this material can be virtually a certainty in many cases. See ASBESTOS FIREPROOFING SPRAY-On Coatings for photos of dangerous tremolite asbetsos ceiling panels and photos of spray-on asbestos fireproofing coatings. Also see CEILING FINISHES INTERIOR and see Asbestos HVAC Ducts a field identification guide to visual detection of asbestos in and on heating and cooling system ducts and flue vents. Also see Micro-Photographs of Dust from the World Trade Center collapse following the 9/11/01 attack. Links to U.S. government and other authoritative research and advice are included. © Copyright 2012 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use page top links to major topics or use links at the left of each page to navigate within topics and documents at this website. Green links show where you are in a document series or at this website. ASBESTOS FIBER-CONTAINING - Examples of materials that might contain asbestos fibersCEILING TILES - Asbestos suspect ceiling tilesSome acoustic ceiling tiles contain asbestos. If renovation is planned it may be smart to simply handle this material as if it contained asbestos particles. In these photographs of older square ceiling tiles the photo (below left) shows a smooth ceiling tile and the second photo (below right) an acoustic ceiling tile with its characteristic pattern of holes. Both of these products might contain asbestos fibers, though the principal material is usually cellulose.
The larger suspended ceiling segment, 2'x4' in size (photo above right), was pushed aside to show the older layers of ceiling materials above. The suspended ceiling tile, if made of fiberglass or cellulose is not a likely asbestos fiber source. Our concern in this particular instance was that the entire cavity above the suspended ceiling was being used as an air conditioning return air plenum, exposing all of the building HVAC system and occupants to whatever particles were released by materials in the cavity, including possibly asbestos from the older layer of acoustic ceiling tiles. The remediation contractor removed all of these layers to expose (and clean) the concrete ceiling above prior to installing a new suspended ceiling. More Asbestos-Suspect Ceiling Tile PhotographsOur perforated acoustic ceiling tile photo (below-left) shows that these particular asbestos-containing ceiling materials were also sometimes applied to a vertical wall. Below right we show a different pattern of asbestos-suspect ceiling tiles found in a government building we examined in Poughkeepsie, NY.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Asbestos-containing Ceiling TilesQuestion: How do I test Ceiling Tiles for Asbestos?A hardware store employee told me to use the lead paint test kit on one of the acoustic ceiling tiles. He said that, after all these years (since 1965) it would show positive for lead, if in fact the tiles contain asbestos. Is this true? - Deb. Reply: visual inspection plus sample collection to send to a certified asbestos testing laboratoryDeb, a lead paint test has nothing to do with and is not capable of detecting asbestos in building products. The hardware store guy who told you to use a lead paint test to screen for asbestos was mistaken.
Question: Are These Asbestos Ceiling Tiles?
Reply: Unlikely. The ceiling tiles in this photo look like plastic-coated fiberglass suspended ceiling panelsA competent onsite inspection by an expert usually finds additional clues that help accurately diagnose a problem or might find asbestos containing materials that you have not noticed. That said, - no the material shown in your photo looks like fiberglass panels used in a suspended ceiling; the panels include a white plastic surface that faces down into the room, sometimes the surfaces may have been painted to cover stains. Do not assume, based on a single item that has caught your eye, that there are no asbestos materials in the building, and of course there could be other environmental or even indoor air quality in the building. The presence of what looks like thermal tracking stains present on the edges of the fiberglass suspended ceiling panels in your photo and the fact that it looks as if the panels may have been painted could be clues about un-wanted air leakage and possible water leaks from above. Watch out: normally asbestos-containing materials are not validated nor in-validated based on free emails sent to a stranger. But in this case the contents of the photo above are rather apparent. Question: Do some Celotex® ceiling tiles contain asbestos?We bought a house that was built in the 50's - it has what I THINK is a Celotex ceiling (or some copy of Celotex) - it's in horrible shape and needs to be taken down - what are your thoughts on it containing asbestos, considering the age? - Saundra Reply: Yes. Here is a list of Celotex® fiber-board, ceiling covering, acoustical, sound control & other products that may contain asbestosSaundra, Keep in mind that Celotex and other insulating board panel and ceiling tile and panel manufacturers produced a range of products, many of which may contain asbestos, but others made of organic fibers, wood fibers, cane fibers may not contain asbestos. The Celotex ceiling products division was sold to Certainteed Saint-Gobain beginning in 1999. Certainteed continues to produce and sell both fiberglass and mineral-fiber ceiling products, as well as gypsum based ceiling materials. You may find look-alike products by searching that company's product catalogs. Modern ceiling products do not contain asbestos. Using Certainteed as an example, [www.certainteed.com] you can obtain an MSDS (Material Data Safety Sheet) for each of the company's products. Common modern ceiling product ingredients include fibrous glass wool, urea formaldehyde resin, and fiberboard products contain slag wool, starch, cellulose [wood fibers], perlite, crystalline silica, and clay. It's worth noting that even modern building products can present health hazards if they are not handled properly. For example crystalline silica can cause nose, throat, and lung irritation. [6] If you are not sure of the product brand and age of the ceiling covering, and are not sure whether or not the product contains asbestos, and if we accept as a "given" that your ceiling covering needs to be removed, there are two reasonable ways to proceed:
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To elaborate your question about asbestos-containing products made by Celotex, the company produced a wide range of fiber-based insulation products such as insulating boards and panels and the company continues to produce modern (non-asbestos-containing) versions of those products today. At SHEATHING Homasote & Other Board we include identifying photographs of some Celotex products. Alphabetical List of Celotex insulating products believed to contain asbestos:
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